Garrett on Austin: ‘He can get better in all phases’

Cowboys WR Miles Austin needs just 21 yards for his second-straight 1,000-yard season, but even with that said, it would be a stretch to say he’s had a good year.

Austin is coming off a 115-yard game against the Cardinals that included a 37-yard TD catch that gave Dallas a 26-24 lead with 1:41 left, but his performance was marred by three drops, including two that should have gone for scores.

Interim coach Jason Garrett said Austin is still learning how to deal with the increased attention he’s received after last year’s breakout season.

“He’s certainly gotten a lot more attention this year than when he first started playing last year,” Garrett said Thursday. “So you have got to go through that process of dealing with the double coverage, the linebackers coming out and hitting you, the corners trailing you with safety help over the top and all that stuff. But he understands that. He just needs to keep fighting through that.”

Garrett said he likes the improvement Austin has shown as a route runner, but quickly added that he “can get better in all phases.”

“He can still improve in that area (route running), but he’s running routes outside, he’s running routes inside, he running routes at a lot of different depth and a lot of different kinds of individual kinds of cuts,” Garrett said.

Garrett also said Austin has retained his impressive work ethic even after receiving a lucrative contract extension before the start of the season.

“What we like about Miles Austin is that he’s a talented guy, but he come sto work every day,” Garrett said. “It’s important to him. He wants to be a good player.”